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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cap — a hat
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. field — for sport
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. roll — a list
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. fork — in a road
  18. kid — to tease
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cap — of ice
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. field — farmland
  23. cap — a lid
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com